Taking Responsibility (1) Spiritual Decline

When talking and praying about revival, or lack of it, it often sounds like we are blaming God. When we say the Holy Spirit is going to move next year, it implies that nothing happened this year, because he had not moved. Taking offence at God is a dangerous game.

We need to take responsibility for our situation. This should have been a marvellous season in New Zealand. The church in New Zealand experienced the Charismatic renewal in the 1970s. Waves of spiritual refreshing have come regularly ever since.

New Zealand has been visited by anointed speakers. The church has plenty of money. The government tolerates the church. We have the freedom to preach the gospel openly. We have good theological education. Social media has provided new modes of communication. Yet despite everything, the spiritual decline has continued unabated.

Something is seriously wrong.

God is not the problem. Jesus has done everything needed for salvation. The fullness of the Holy Spirit has been poured out on the church. He cannot do any more than he has already done. He can’t do more next year.

We can blame the people of the church, but that does not seem to be fair. They respect their pastor-leaders and do what they say; perhaps not as fervently as the pastors would like, but they do what they are asked to do.

The leaders of the church must take responsibility for the spiritual decline.